GM Hikaru Nakamura is rated over 2800 for the primary time in 9 years after handing a 3rd defeat in a row to World Champion Ding Liren. Nakamura can be world number-two after GM Fabiano Caruana cracked within the endgame for a second sport in a row, this time towards Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu. The identical destiny befell GM Alireza Firouzja, who was put to the sword by world number-one Magnus Carlsen on a day of loopy late drama.
GM Vaishali Rameshbabu stored the lead in Girls’s Norway Chess by checkmating GM Lei Tingjie in armageddon, however GM Anna Muzychuk‘s second classical win in a row, this time over GM Pia Cramling, places her in sole second place, only a level behind the chief. Girls’s World Champion Ju Wenjun has received all 5 matches, however solely in armageddon, and finds herself in third place on the midway mark.
Spherical six begins Sunday, June 2, at 11 a.m. ET / 17:00 CEST / 8:30 p.m. IST.
Norway Chess Spherical 5 Outcomes
Open: Nakamura Dominates Ding; Carlsen, Praggnanandhaa Snatch Late Wins
Nakamura stays on the right track to defend his Norway Chess title, however Carlsen and Praggnanandhaa are inside placing distance after dramatic late wins.
Standings After Spherical 5 | Open
Nakamura 3-0 Ding
Seldom can we see such stark contrasts in fortune in top-level chess, however this sport was nearly painful to witness. World Champion Ding has now misplaced three classical video games in a row and plunged to world number-13, whereas Nakamura has returned to the 2800 membership nearly 9 years since he may boast an official 2816 ranking in October 2015.
It isn’t simply concerning the statistics. Nakamura informed the commentary crew that what units him other than his rivals these days is his strategy: “I attempt to play and have enjoyable!” For Ding, in the meantime, chess since profitable the world championship title has appeared to carry solely ache. Nakamura was shocked by the change in his opponent because the final time he’d performed him, within the fateful closing sport of the 2022 Candidates in Madrid.
Nakamura: “Ding positively does not seem to be the identical particular person… at some second he began bouncing up and down, actually shaking, and it is very onerous in a manner when your opponent—it appears as if one thing’s flawed—it is very onerous to not really feel unhealthy for them!” pic.twitter.com/8TmNRthHtY
— chess24 (@chess24com) June 1, 2024
Issues additionally went flawed early on the chessboard, as Nakamura sprung a shock on transfer three, although one he famous would doubtless not have labored towards Carlsen or Caruana, since they’d have noticed that Nakamura’s Candidates second, Swedish GM Nils Grandelius, had performed it a few hours earlier within the French Workforce Championship.
Grandelius solely drew, however the five-time American champion quickly took over and went on to attain a completely convincing win.
That is our Sport of the Day, which has been analyzed by GM Rafael Leitao beneath:
That second classical win in a row meant Nakamura retained the lead and likewise climbed above 2800 on the stay ranking listing.
📈 @GMHikaru passes 2800 and reaches his highest ranking in almost a decade! pic.twitter.com/3LRYudd1ix
— Chess.com (@chesscom) June 1, 2024
Issues would solely get higher for the chess world’s high streamer, as he shortly regained the world number-two spot, whereas the primary of two endgame tragedies unfolded earlier than our eyes.
Praggnanandhaa 3-0 Caruana
18-year-old Indian star Praggnanandhaa has now pulled off the outstanding feat of beating the world numbers one and two in the identical event, as he adopted his win over Carlsen by taking down Caruana. For the reigning U.S. champion, it was a case of lightning placing twice, since for the second spherical in a row, he blundered on transfer 66 of a theoretically drawn place.
The brutal time management in Stavanger—with no additional time at transfer 40 and a mere 10 seconds per transfer added after that time—is little doubt an element, whereas Nakamura talked about on the stay broadcast that it was additionally his countryman’s Achilles’ heel: “He makes extra of those ?? blunders when he will get low on time than different high gamers.”
It was additionally effective judgment by Praggnanandhaa, nonetheless, who had realized upfront that the three vs. two-pawn knight endgame was harder to defend than it regarded.
Praggnanaandhaa: “I’ve obtained a really attention-grabbing endgame… I’ve checked out a few of these positions and if the white king is sort of energetic it may be difficult!” #NorwayChess pic.twitter.com/nyAJzQ3sFK
— chess24 (@chess24com) June 1, 2024
In the long run it was a tragedy of a single sq..
That knocked Caruana out of the 2800 membership and right down to world number-three, whereas additionally seeing Praggnanandhaa return to the world top-10 and climb to second place within the event—however not for lengthy. One other endgame tragedy would observe!
Carlsen 3-0 Firouzja
It is a curious sport, because it started with a variation of the Berlin {that a} drained Carlsen wasn’t fully positive why he’d chosen.
Magnus Carlsen: “I truthfully got here to the sport right now and I used to be not feeling up for it in any respect, simply actually drained for some purpose… Additionally I do not know why I performed that line within the opening… I form of awoke slightly bit now and I’ve some hope” https://t.co/9h0bfARyHa pic.twitter.com/utevL8mdAn
— chess24 (@chess24com) June 1, 2024
As he mentions, nonetheless, his urge for food as soon as once more grew as the sport went alongside, boosted by Firouzja’s failure to discover a technique to equalize within the early middlegame. Then on transfer 26, the Frenchman sank right into a 42-minute suppose earlier than lastly enjoying 26…Rc8!?.
The transfer itself is affordable, however Carlsen recognized why it had been “a very agonizing resolution” for his younger opponent. After 26…Rb7 27.Rxb7 Bxb7 the world number-one stated he was fairly positive it was a draw, however felt it might provoke “some unhealthy reminiscences for him, seeing as I received a form of related bishop endgame towards him right here in 2021.”
It will certainly have been eerily much like that sport, which Firouzja ought to have been in a position to attract.
The issue for Firouzja was that there was no clear-cut manner to attract in some other line, and Carlsen was licking his chops: “I’m simply having fun with the prospect of him not having fun with the place and hopefully stepping into time bother.”
That is what occurred, although it was nonetheless a stunning finish. The younger star had stored his head above water till abruptly exchanging rooks right into a dropping pawn endgame.
Carlsen, like Nakamura and Praggnanandhaa earlier than him, had the decency to look apologetic on the chess tragedy that had taken place.
A shocking end to the spherical as Carlsen beats Firouzja so that each one 3 video games are decisive! https://t.co/9h0bfARyHa#NorwayChess pic.twitter.com/EUuoY0v9iz
— chess24 (@chess24com) June 1, 2024
It had been a loopy spherical that had shaken up the standings on the stay ranking listing. It is onerous to imagine that just some days in the past we would been considering whether or not Caruana would beat Carlsen and shut the hole on the high to underneath 4 factors. Out of the blue the Norwegian is sort of 28 factors clear, and it is Nakamura in second place.
Successful when the stakes are highest is a behavior the good champions have, and Carlsen had additionally wrapped issues up in time to see his crew Actual Madrid win the Champions League.
Successful is lifestyle. It’s in your blood. On the largest stage, you simply can’t not win. It’s a must to.
Hala Madrid.
🤍
— Magnus Carlsen (@MagnusCarlsen) June 1, 2024
Girls: Muzychuk Storms Into 2nd, Vaishali Nonetheless Leads
There was a lot much less drama within the Girls’s Norway Chess, although we did see a major transfer within the standings.
Standings After Spherical 5 | Girls
Muzychuk 3-0 Cramling
Muzychuk had suffered lately, going 21 classical video games and not using a win, together with the complete size of the Candidates in Toronto. Her begin in Stavanger was additionally sluggish with three attracts in classical chess and three losses in armageddon. Now, nonetheless, after profitable two classical video games in a row, she’s abruptly only a level behind the chief.
Her second win got here towards the legendary Cramling, who additionally suffered a second loss in a row. The sport noticed queens come off on transfer 12, however Muzychuk stored a nagging edge along with her bishop pair. The benefit grew till, with simply 4 minutes remaining, Cramling gave up a pawn solely to enter a hopeless place. There was no manner again.
The remaining two matches featured very quiet classical video games, which meant armageddon.
Ju 1.5-1 Humpy
The ladies’s world champion has pulled off the spectacular feat of beating all 5 of her opponents within the first half of the event, however since she’s solely finished it in armageddon (incomes 1.5 factors and never the three factors for a classical win), it is solely sufficient for third place.
Nonetheless, her speedy play has been spectacular, and as soon as once more it was a case of an additional pawn being transformed right into a win when her rival did not discover a slim path to a draw.
Vaishali 1.5-1 Lei
Vaishali, within the closing sport of the day to complete, may afford to lose and nonetheless retain the general lead. She did not, nonetheless, regardless of discovering herself in a worse place. Lei, who wanted solely a draw, let issues get out of hand, and the omens have been unhealthy when Vaishali, like her brother earlier within the day, entered a 3 vs. two knight endgame.
Lei tried claiming a draw by three-fold repetition when she put her king on e4 for a 3rd time, however the place hadn’t been repeated 3 times.
As a penalty the arbiter gave Vaishali additional time on the clock, and, within the chaos that adopted, the Indian star managed to queen a pawn and ship checkmate.
Vaishali will now have the white items towards the ladies’s world champion in Sunday’s spherical six, whereas the general world champion has the very last thing he wants proper now after dropping three video games in a row—Black towards Carlsen. Black towards Nakamura can be lower than excellent for Caruana after his two losses in a row. As soon as once more, we are able to anticipate blood to be spilled!
Spherical 6 Pairings
Norway Chess 2024 options Open and Girls’s six-player tournaments for equal prize funds of 1,690,000 NOK (~$160,000). It runs Might 27 to June 7 in Stavanger, with gamers dealing with their opponents twice at classical chess (120 minutes/40 strikes, with a 10-second increment from transfer 41). The winner of a classical sport will get three factors, the loser, zero; after a draw, the gamers get one level and battle for one more half-point in armageddon (10 minutes for White, seven for Black, who has draw odds).
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